Kinmen is an island littered with abandoned buildings which have been left to decay in the past couple of decades due to the semi-recent demilitarization. Some of these properties are stuck in limbo with no hope for restoration, habitation or demolition because of multiple factors such as lack of knowledge of the owner as well as common superstitions. ‘Pop-Up Shop Kinmen’ seeks to momentarily resuscitate one of these ruins through a quick cleaning and renovation of the space for the purpose of transforming it into something between a small store, a museum and a cabinet of curiosities.

​Visitors to ‘Pop-Up Shop Kinmen’ were greeted by cheerful staff as they entered into a space full of objects that had been saved from the debris pile and transformed from their previous uses. In transforming and caring for the space as well as the materials, we imbue them with new possibilities while embracing their history and stripping away any negative connotations associated with them. As visitors browse the installation, looking over the products and the artifacts, they can see new possibilities for old materials. In all of these things the project strives to promote sustainable management of finite resources, upcycling, as well as circular and alternative economies. Through the duration of ‘Pop-Up Shop Kinmen’, the goal of the project was to activate the space but through that process it became a brief focal point in the community.

While the shop offered collectables, postcards, gifts, fashion and jewelry as commercial objects, the economy of the space functions more as a purpose for engaging with a diverse community who might not otherwise want to enter the space. ‘Pop-up Shop Kinmen’ itself is an act of revitalization and community engagement whereby visitors return to the space to see how it changes from day to day and also where the shopkeepers have almost ritualized daily exchanges with those who live nearby.​‘Pop-Up Shop Kinmen’ was operated by 黃妤萱 and Justin Tyler Tate.between 14:00-18:00 from 08/21-08/26/2018 at 金城鎮莒光路85巷5號 in Kinmen, Taiwan.

Click on the button to the right to see a short video documenting 'Pop-Up Shop Kinmen'